


Hope That You Don't Run

by milou407



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - Greasers, Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, Greaser Jack, Jack Feels, M/M, Motorcycles, Nerd Eric, Period-Typical Homophobia, very light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 01:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5519657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milou407/pseuds/milou407
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every day after school, Jack Zimmerman and the rest of the Samwell hockey team end up in the diner where Eric Bittle works. This is what happens after that on one special day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope That You Don't Run

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sajee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sajee/gifts).



> This is a gift for sajee! I hope you like it!

When the bell attached to the door sounded, Eric Bittle didn't even have to look up from the table he was bussing to know who had entered the diner. It was about time for the daily arrival of the hockey boys. Not quite greasers, but not simply jocks, the players on Samwell High's hockey team were widely regarded as the coolest and most dangerous boys in school. Every day they rolled into the parking lot of McCaffrey's Diner on a collection of bikes and convertibles, descending upon the diner as regular as clockwork. The group of boys swaggered in and walked over to where Lardo stood behind the counter, clearly trying (and failing) to chat her up. The only boy who ever seemed to get anywhere was the one Bitty had only ever heard referred to as "Shitty", and even he only got a smile or two before they were shooed away. The group moved toward their usual booth, one which happened to be directly in the middle of Bitty's section. Before he caught the eye of any of the boys, Bitty hurried into the kitchen to dump his load of dishes and pulled Chowder to the side. 

"Hey Bitty!" Chowder chirped, ever happy and eager to please, "What do you need?"

"Chowder, can you take the group that just sat down? I'm completely swamped with other tables, and I don't know if I'll be able to keep track of them." He felt bad for forcing the hockey boys on Chowder, but he really did have a ridiculous amount of tables and didn't want to have to deal with the riotous group and their confusing captain. 

"Sure, that's fine. As long as you can cover- wait." Chowder went silent as he leaned around the entry to the kitchen and surveyed the diner floor, "Is that _Jack Zimmerman_ sitting at that booth?" 

Bitty sighed, "Yes, it is. And all his teammates. Now will you _please_ go and start their orders? They're going to start getting impatient soon."

"Sure Bits! Oh wow, Jack Zimmerman!" Chowder grabbed his pad and pen and practically skipped out of the kitchen. Bitty grinned to himself as he took the plates for one of his other tables off of the counter. For all that he was a high school student, Chowder still reminded him of a little kid, in all the best ways. Weaving expertly between tables, Bitty went about his business while studiously ignoring the booth against the wall. He still felt a twinge of guilt when he passed by and saw Chowder stammering through the specials, but he pushed it aside to do his job.

So there was another reason why Bitty didn't want to deal with the hockey boys.

Every time the team came in, roaring into the parking lot in their cars and on their bikes, no matter who was sick or injured that day, they included their captain, Jack Zimmerman. Jack Zimmerman, who rode a black Harley Davidson and wore a red and white letterman jacket. Jack, with his slicked back dark hair and blue eyes which always looked a little sad, even when he laughed. The most popular boy in school who had absolutely no reason to look twice at small, skinny, nerdy Eric Bittle, but who Bitty had had a crush on since freshman year anyway. And for some reason, every time his team came in and sat in Bitty's section, Jack always was awkward and stuttering around Bitty. The rest of the time, when he talked to Lardo or one of the other waiters, Jack was a lot looser. Not that he was smooth by any means, but he certainly wasn't as closed off as he was with Bitty. Their awkward interactions just cemented how far out of Bitty's league Jack was, and Bitty really didn't need that today. 

Earlier that day, Bitty had been forced to watch Allison Bentley flirting with Jack all through their shared study hall, and Jack had simply smiled and laughed along with her the entire time. He had been quiet, but he was polite to her and certainly didn't stutter like he did when he talked to Bitty. Being shoved into the lockers by some of the football players hadn't made Bitty's day any better, and all he wanted was a calm shift and to go home without being bothered. The last thing he needed was to have to wait at a table with Jack Zimmerman there, looking all perfect and mussed after practice. 

Because it was hard enough being gay in a small town in 1956 without having a giant crush on one of the most well-known boys in school. And it was enough of a struggle to get through his daily life without worrying about lingering glances and whether or not the wrong person found out who he liked. He just didn't have the strength in him today to deal with Jack Zimmerman and his stupidly pretty blue eyes, and he definitely didn't want to have to pretend that the letterman jacket wearing, motorcycle riding boy with the slicked back hair had no effect on him. 

Shaking his head, Bitty forcibly turned away from their table returned to his job, checking in on all of his customers and taking orders to the kitchen. He had just gotten back into his rhythm when Chowder stopped him, looking sheepish. 

"Hey, Bitty, I completely forgot, but Farmer and I were supposed to go to the drive-in right after my shift ends, and I know I said I could take you home but this is really important 'cause I was going to ask her to go steady with me, so I was wondering if it would be ok if I left right after my shift instead of taking you home. Which I could totally still do, but I don't know if I would have time-"

"Chowder, remember to breathe." Bitty forced a smile as Chowder visibly inhaled and exhaled, "Calm down, it's fine. Go out with Farmer, I'll find another ride home."

"Thanks Bits! I owe you one." With that, Chowder dashed off, and Bitty let out a sigh, leaning against the section of counter he had been cleaning. Not having a car was hard, but he would have to make do until he had saved enough to buy his own. Being jostled by another waiter brought him back down to earth again, where he still had a job to do, at least for another half hour. He straightened and rubbed his face, chastising himself for being so distracted. When Bitty looked around, he caught Jack Zimmerman staring at him from where he sat at the counter while his friend talked to Lardo. Bitty felt himself blush, and thought he caught the hint of a smile on Jack's face before he turned to begin the process of locking up. 

\-----------

Forty five minutes later, Bitty turned the key in the master lock to secure the diner building overnight. He had been happy to be promoted, but besides a miniscule raise, all it had given him was more duties and longer working hours. He walked out to the parking lot, expecting to find it empty, since he had sent everyone home at least fifteen minutes ago. Instead, there was a single motorcycle which stood in the center of the lot with Jack Zimmerman leaning against it, just as calmly as anything. He looked up when Bitty stopped abruptly, and gave him that same small smile as he had when seated at the counter. 

"Hey, Eric."

Bitty blinked in surprise. Jack knew his name? Wait, of course he did, Bitty had been his waiter before. Obviously.

"Hi, Jack. What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of your team?"

"No, they all went home. I was just waiting."

"What for?" 

Jack gave him a strange look, like he was trying to figure out if Bitty was joking with him. "I was waiting for you."

"Why?" Bitty couldn't decide if he thought it was creepy or sweet that Jack waited for him to be done with work. Until he had more information, he was going to go with sweet.

"Because you need a ride home. I heard you talking to Chris Chow, he left you, right? So you would have had to walk home, and I thought I would offer to take you instead of making you walk." By the end, Jack had his hands in his pockets and was kicking at some stones around on the pavement. He looked painfully awkward and unsure, but Bitty was still trying to process the fact that Jack Zimmerman just _offered him a ride home._

He ended up blurting out, "I didn't even think you knew who I was!", which was definitely not what he had meant to say, and he blushed even harder.

Jack looked confused at that, "Eric. We go to the same school, and our town's not that big. Of course I know who you are. We have study hall together, you can't just think I would ignore you. Besides," Jack rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked at the ground, a hint of a blush darkening his cheeks. The small, bashful smile was back, and Bitty didn't know if he could handle the soft kindness it offered, "you're my favorite server at the diner, because you're always really friendly and patient with us, even though I know we're a bit of a handful." 

Well wasn't this just a day of surprises.

"So you're here because you felt bad for me? Because I didn't have a ride?" Selfishly, Bitty hoped that Jack had offered to take him home for reasons other than pity, more personal and possibly romantic reasons, but it could always be that Jack just didn't want to see someone walk home when there was another option.

"No," Jack was clearly taken aback at this and getting somewhat frustrated, "I just wanted- Listen, Eric-"

"Bitty."

"...What?"

"Bitty. My friends call me Bitty. Not Eric."

"Alright then, Bitty," The smile was back, small and a little shy this time, "I like you, and you looked upset when your friend had to run out on you. So. Do you want a ride home?"  
Bitty eyed the motorcycle, all black metal and gleaming chrome. It looked dangerous, powerful, and (he could admit it) a little sexy. 

"Absolutely." Bitty lifted his chin and stepped toward the bike. He paused, realizing he didn't actually know how to get on.

"Just swing a leg over, I'll hold her steady for you." Jack did as he promised, and Bitty was able to get on the bike with a minimum amount of flailing. Once he was settled, Jack handed him a helmet with a murmur of "Safety first," and stared at him for a second, frowning. Then, he took off his jacket, handing that to Bitty too. 

"What do I need your jacket for?" Why was he protesting when he could be wearing _Jack Zimmerman's letterman jacket?_

"It can get cold when we're riding, and I don't want you to freeze. I'll be fine, I've ridden in just a shirt before."

Well, Bitty could have argued, but he was a little distracted by Jack Zimmerman standing there in all his hockey muscled glory in a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans, so he just sat there while Jack got on the bike ahead of him. 

"Tap me before I need to turn, I won't be able to hear you if you try to talk to me. And make sure to hold on tight, I don't want you to fall off the back."

"Hold on to what?" There wasn't a safety rail, or anything else to hold onto except- oh. 

"Me, of course." Bitty slipped his arms around Jack's waist and pulled himself close, until he was plastered against Jack's back. Jack looked over his shoulder once he was secure with a positively feral grin. "Ready to go?"

Bitty nodded and pressed his face into Jack's back, inhaling the smell of leather, exhaust, and something sharp and sweet, like dark chocolate and caramel. There was a roar of sound when Jack started the bike, which quieted into purr and a thrumming of vibration when they began to move and pulled out onto the quiet street. Once they were on the road, Bitty could feel Jack losing his tension as they flew through their town, leaving speed limits shattered in their wake. Bitty relaxed against Jack, not even trying to direct him, instead just enjoying the thrill of flying through darkened streets with a boy on a moonlit night. After a little while, Bitty recognized the streets they were tearing down, and tapped on Jack's left arm, telling him to turn left. Jack slowed the bike down to a more sedate speed and took direction from Bitty, leading them back to a small house tucked away on a quiet street. In front of it, Jack turned off the bike and got off, holding out a hand to help Bitty. He took it with only a small amount of warmth in his chest, and managed to disembark without falling to the ground. Bitty took off the helmet and put it on the bike, turning back to face Jack.

"Thank you for, um, the ride and- and everything. It was a lot of fun, actually, once I got over being terrified I was going to fall off."

It was hard to concentrate on talking when Jack was staring at him with those bright blue eyes, and really, that smile was out of control and should be outlawed because it was doing strange things to Bitty's knees.

"No problem, Bitty. I'm glad you had fun. Maybe we could-if you want- do it again sometime."

Bitty stood staring at Jack, utterly dumbfounded, for long enough that Jack's smile dimmed and he shifted awkwardly on his feet.

"Yes! That would be- that sounds great. Like a fantastic idea. Yep. Definitely something I could do again."

Good recovery, Bittle.

Thankfully, he seemed to get his message across, because Jack's smile was back in full force. He straightened and stepped closer to Bitty, his hands shoved in his pockets. 

"Good. I'm glad. Oh, your hair. The helmet made it- here." And Bitty was sure he was hallucinating, because there was no possible way Jack was trying to fix his hair. But he must have been, because once he was finished, Jack let his hand trail down to the edge of Bitty's jaw line. Bitty had to remember that yes, he did know how to breathe, and all of that progress was shot to pieces when Jack leaned in and lightly brushed his lips over Bitty's. 

"Is this alright?" Jack murmured, close enough that Bitty could feel his breath against his lips. In answer, Bitty lifted himself onto his toes and kissed Jack, properly this time. It was nothing like what Bitty had expected, but at the same time, it was absolutely the most amazing moment of his life. Jack didn't taste like dark chocolate and caramel, and Bitty didn't feel fireworks when they kissed, but that was all just fine because kissing Jack in itself was the best thing he had ever experienced. He didn't need fireworks when he could feel Jack's mouth moving against his and his fingers sliding through Bitty's hair. And he didn't expect Jack to taste like chocolate, he tasted like Jack, which was more than enough for Bitty. In truth, it was the best thing Bitty had ever experienced, and when they pulled away, they were both breathless and wrapped up completely in each other. Jack grinned down at Bitty, brighter and more open than before, and Bitty was absolutely transfixed. 

"Well," Jack said, letting go of Bitty and stepping back, "That was a hell of a thank you."

Bitty blushed, "Well, you're a hell of a guy, Mr. Zimmerman."

If Bitty thought Jack's smile was bright before, it was nothing compared to what it was now. Jack smiled unabashedly at Bitty, and he was struck with the thought that he didn't think he had seen Jack smile so openly ever before, except when he was with his hockey teammates. 

"It was my pleasure," Jack walked back to his bike and swung a leg over, "I'll see you tomorrow at school Bitty."

"Yes, you will. Oh, wait, Jack!" Jack paused in starting the motorcycle and looked back at Bitty. "Don't you want your jacket back?"

From the bike, Jack winked at Bitty, and then said, "No, keep it. Actually, it looks better on you." Then he peeled out of Bitty's drive way and flew down the road into the night. 

Bitty stood in his driveway, clutching the jacket around him, breathing in the smell of the leather, cloth, and chocolate caramel that seemed to cling to the material. He imagined going into school the next day wearing the jacket, especially with the name "Zimmerman" on it, big and bold. He could imagine the looks he would get, people eyeing him strangely and whispering as he walked through the halls with Jack Zimmerman's name on him. But the reluctance and fear that those thoughts conjured up was tempered by the warmth at getting to see Jack smile again, open and unashamed at kissing Bitty out in the open. The apprehension was overtaken by the heat that filled Bitty when Jack had winked at him, and the feral smile he had been given before Jack drove away, and Bitty only had one thought in his head as he headed back into his house. It wasn't a worry about people finding out about him and the captain of the winning hockey team kissing in his driveway, or worry about how he could hope to be in anything resembling a relationship with the dangerous boy with the bright eyes and the brighter smile. 

The only thing Bitty could think of was that Jack Zimmerman was going to be _trouble._

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Much love


End file.
